Twixt Light and Shadow
by Deichan
Summary: Sequel to "For Love of Light and Shadow".. the plot thickens, and hints dropped before are referred back to again!
1. Default Chapter

'Twixt Light and Shadow   
  
Part 1: In Darkness He Dwells  
  
I  
  
The dew of the morning mist touched the lands of Caer Elfoar like a lover's hand, and in the pale light of early morn they glimmered in silver glory. The air hung crystalline and still with a strange expectation, a whispering in the soul that spoke of newcomings and change. A lone traveler paused on his journey and listened to the stillness, then walked on, leaving the beaten path to the Caer itself and taking instead the small footpath into the dense forest.  
  
The Eald was quiet as was its wont. No wind stirred the leaves of the mortal forest and it was that strange hour, when the living things hung in limbo between sleep and activity. Here, the expectation was stilled, the air timeless, and under this quiet the traveler passed, grey cloak making not a whisper against the formless brush. This passing did not go without notice, though, and cold eyes followed with an indifferent suspicion the traveler who walked nowhere with a purpose.  
  
Then with a seeming nonchalance, that cloaked figure turned and looked into the cold eyes, meeting moss green with hard ebony. A deliberate turning away, a soft rustle of heavy cloth, and the traveler continued on his way to the depths of Eald. Trowa smiled to the turned back and the stone at his breast warmed in recognition of the other's proud and defiant manner. No common traveler was this; he walked with the air of one returning to home, but unfamiliar with the changes made since his absence, or perhaps the memories he drew from in traversing the forest were not his own.  
  
A step through shadow and the tall Sidhe paced the familiar stranger through the brush. Together they walked in silence, neither sparing a glance at the other for both knew the destination, and finally the Sidhe spoke, breaking the crystal quiet.  
  
"As you walk in the mortal Eald, you will not reach the place you seek."  
  
The traveler stilled his pace and Trowa did in turn, standing a step before him. The Sidhe turned and faced the other, a slight whimsical expression touching his face. Yes, he knew this traveler, or knew his manner; the glimmer of the blue stone inside the dark cloak confirmed the memory dancing in Trowa's mind, of a lithe form with long, shining dark hair and eyes of obsidian.  
  
"What know you of where I travel?" the figure asked defiantly; the voice was still young, untouched as yet by the whole sorrow of the world, but therein rung the slight ethereal timbre that marked him Sidhe.  
  
Trowa replied softly, "I saw it in your eyes, your destination," for he had, in that single glance. A slight smile touched his lips at the suspicion shadowing the onyx eyes. "Ceud failte[1], young one. Welcome to Eald."  
  
The young Sidhe who was called Wufei did not smile in return, but glared at the other with dampened hostility. "I do not come seeking your welcome," said he, drawing the cloak to his body, hiding the blue stone hanging at his heart. "I come to retrieve what is mine, and then I shall leave again as I came."  
  
"Ah, such distrust," Trowa whispered, touching lightly his own pale stone, seeking Wufei's. His heart filled with a bittersweet tenderness towards the child of a long-gone friend, even as his gentle overtures were met with a wall of stony pride and anger. "Well did I know your mother, son of Meiran. You mind me of her."  
  
The wall began to crumble at the mention of the regal Lady, whom Wufei had so often seen in warm dreams and soft memories; the shadow that covered his own dark eyes lifted the smallest bit. He spoke, in a voice that was no longer so impertinent and more like the voice of one searching for an ally. "You know my mother?"Ê  
  
The tall Sidhe moved his head in acquiesce, feeling the barely concealed aloneness of the boy. "Aye. Oft times we were together, with another, Katara. The closest companions we three made." Trowa saddened at the look of distrust still evident in Wufei's golden face. "Look to your heart. You know I speak only the truth."  
  
A tense moment, as the morning light of mortal Eald touched the trees, hung in the air. Trowa felt the solid warmth of the sun on his face and at that moment felt the wall around Wufei's heart lower, then fall.  
  
"All my life, I lived under the mortal sun," Wufei said quietly, allowing himself trust towards the tall Sidhe. "My mother left for the sea before I had seen the passing of one season, and so I have no learning of the ways of the true Eald."  
  
Trowa smiled softly and held a slender hand toward the younger Sidhe. "Come, then," he said, standing in the fall of golden sunlight. "I shall show you the way."  
  
A step forward and Wufei grasped the cool hand with his own, and in an instant he was drawn into the golden sunset of the elfish sun, sheltered by tall trees with silver leaves. Trowa laughed quietly at the incredulity shining in the young Sidhe's face and with a slight pulling on the hand directed him to follow. Through quiet glades they walked, passing nimble deer with large fey eyes, who paid the two little notice, instead bowing their graceful necks to the grass which grew abundantly amid tiny blooms. Beneath strong, straight branches they passed, sweet birds trilling their welcome and farewells again, and as the shadows of Eald deepened with the parting of the sun, the moon rose and shone on their path with the almost light of bright night.Ê  
  
And then, the trees about them parted, and in the center of glade before them rose a single tree, immense and wide-spread, shining in the moonlight. Therein, among the branches, hung glimmers starlight, caught in the jewels and swords as the stars were caught in the night sky. Here the tall Sidhe stopped and let the smaller hand in his drop, for there was no fear of Wufei slipping back into the mortal Eald in that place. Stepping away, Trowa selected a shining sword from the branches above and drew it down, holding it flat in both hands instead of grasping the hilt of the blade. He turned, and offered the sword to the young Sidhe before him; hesitating only a moment, the boy reached out and gripped the hilt, lifting it from the other's open hands.  
  
The moon shone brightly on the silver blade and elfish magic made it almost weightless, and so the whole of the thing made the sword seem illusionary and insubstantial. Wufei studied the blade while Trowa waited, and received the blade when it was handed back to him moments later. "I cannot bear my mother's sword," Wufei said quietly with a small measure of shame. "It is too honorable a weapon for one such as I to learn swordplay with."  
  
Trowa allowed a small smile to touch his eyes as he returned the blade to its former resting place. "'T'will do. We once called your mother 'Nataku'. She was a great warrior, and would be pleased to have her son use her sword."Ê  
  
The Sidhe faced Wufei again and for a second was struck with the hard intensity of the young one's eyes. "You feel it, do you not?" he accused the older. "You feel it in the east, the darkness... It will rise to consume everything like fire, yet you stay in the forest and you do nothing!"  
  
Closing his eyes, Trowa turned away, not a deliberate and insulting turn as Wufei's had been, but one of weariness and sorrow. "I would..." he began, his voice thin as the pale moonlight. "I would, that I could leave and not despair the woods failing in life, and not fear for..." There he paused and opened his eyes towards the Caer Elfoar with a sad yearning, but he did not continue, and began anew, turning back to Wufei. "The Eald stretches thin in the world, Wufei, and it takes much of me to keep it as it is. I could not leave to battle a far menace; the Eald is the source of our strength, and much would it wane should I wander far. At least, I could not do it myself."   
  
Moss eyes commanded onyx to them, and thus captured them in close attention. "Just as you cannot fight the battle yourself. Aye, I feel the dark, like a clarion call to arms and even so, I chose to remain, to protect Eald. You said before you would retrieve what is yours and then leave as you came. Tell me, do you still wish to leave, or will you stay here and stand firm against the dark, with allies behind to guard even as you guard the Eald?"  
  
A cool wind whispered through the glade, sending the swords above and the stones on silver strands to movement, and in the aftermath of the breeze's passing they made minute sounds of meeting upon each other, filling the branches with the sound of tinkling laughter and starling memories. "Allies?" floated the question on quiet wings, carrying a small note of hope with it. "Then there are others, still here?"  
  
Sadness touched Trowa's eyes, though he sought to hide it. "In Caer Elfoar, in the mortal world, there is one who would lend aid if it were requested of him." The name was filled with a deep longing. "Quatre..." 


	2. Part 2

pity this busy monster,manunkind,Ê  
  
not.  
  
Ê  
  
The bridge of the flagship Zeoifh glowed with the various holographic diagrams of the small blue planet, flickered as the images changed and altered to display other things. A detailed terrain of the planet flashed for a moment, then thermonuclear readouts, areas of high population highlighted. The images were replaced with diagrams of the large metallic satellites that orbited the planet. The lights of the pictures were reflected on a perfectly sculpted face. Pale eyes glittered faintly, then narrowed, shutting out the light.  
  
"This is the information the scout ship gathered?" the soft voice mused.   
  
On the left of the bridge, a slight and shadowed figure rose deferentially. "Yes, Commander Pasdreti. This is the information that was requested on the Third Planet."   
  
A small, amused smile touched the Commander's lips, and with a wave of the hand the images focused on the cylindrical satellites. "These satellites are hardly the products of a primitive backward planet with a point zero zero one technology rating."   
  
Another wave of the hand and an orbital diagram of the planet came into view, showing areas of obvious technological activity in the large continent in the southern hemisphere and other regions. The planet's natural satellite also had signs of significant technological developments.   
  
"Agreed, Commander," said the figure to the left. "Is such evidence of advancement constituting a threat to the Direut?"   
  
The Commander nodded rather negligently. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. It would be preferred that, rather than elimination of a potential threat, assimilation could be used as the favorable option."   
  
With a slight turning of the head, the dark and regal commander of the flag ship of the First Direut Battle Fleet brought the ship's communications officer to his feet. "Lieutenant, inform the Combine Head General that the fleet will engage in diplomatic action as respite from its typical wanton destruction."   
  
Commander Pasdreti's eyes glittered again with concealed levity as the Lieutenant smiled slightly and bowed, turning back to the communications console. The Commander of the Zeoifh trusted his officers to be discreet despite the words of his orders, a trust built from dependability during thousands of battles and a sort of preservation of self through the preservation of the group. The Head General would receive a more diplomatically worded message. Meanwhile, a messenger ship would be sent down to the planet and engage the sentient species into a sort of temporary alliance.Ê   
  
Pasdreti wondered if the dominant language had changed much since the last time the Direut visited the planet Earth.   
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"You know, Hilde," the young man known as Duo Maxwell said from his place on the spread blanket. He was laying down on his back, looking up to the stars that shone in the night sky. "I really think there might be another intelligence race somewhere, out there."   
  
Hilde Schiebeker, his best friend and house mate of 10 years, nodded from her vantage point on the hood of their car, also peering up into the starry expanse of the heavens. Not knowing that she had responded, Duo craned his head up toward. "What do you think?"  
  
She thought a moment before verbally responding, playing with a strand of cropped hair. Looking down to Duo's upturned, expectant face, Hilde shrugged. "Who knows? The universe is immense. Odds are another higher race cropped up somewhere, don't you think?"  
  
Duo grinned like an imp and winked. "The truth is out there... ooooo!" He laughed as he lunged away from the empty soda can Hilde tossed at his head. The braided man picked up the can from where it came to rest on the patchwork quilt and slowly crushed it in his hand, looking back up at the sky. Something had caught his eye.  
  
Duo squinted at a particular "star", which he though had just moved. "Hey, Hilde..."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
He gestured towards to quadrant of sky he was observing. "Did you see that?"  
  
The German girl brushed her unruly bangs from her face where the wind had blown them. "See what, Duo?"  
  
"I dunno..." The wind was picking up a bit, giving a chill cast to the previously mild night.  
  
Hilde blew the bangs away from her face with an exasperated burst of air, glaring down at Duo. "If you don't know what you saw, then how I can I know if I saw it?"  
  
He shrugged less than expressively, leaning against his propped arms. "It looked like that star moved..."  
  
Hilde huffed impatiently. "It was probably a shuttle from one of the colonies, ya big dumb lug! Now you're all caught up thinking it was a UFO, or something."  
  
Eyes aglitter, Duo grinned up to his girl-buddy. "Wow, you really think it was a UFO, Hilde?"   
Ê   
"Baka," he heard her snort. "It's getting cold, Duo, let's head back home."  
  
"Yeah, ok." Duo stood up off the blanket and bent to pick it up, folding the well-worn quilt as he walked around to the back of the car. Hilde slid off the hood and retrieved the crushed can, then made a perimeter check of their picnic area for any other trash. Duo laughed to himself watching her.  
  
'That's my Hilde;Ê always looking after good ole Mother Earth,' he thought. Then his eyes were drawn up to the sky again with a bit of apprehension. 'I don't think that was just a shuttle...'   
ÊÊ   
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Almost half a world away, it was nearly dawn on the Mediterranean. The waves of the sea lapped quietly on the shore near a small villa, comfortable atop a bluff overlooking the water. Well tailored gardens that guarded the villa were washed of color in the silver pre-dawn light and it seemed at the sounds of the world muted in the transition of night into day. The calm and serenity was so complete that Quatre's harsh breaths frightened him terribly.  
  
The young blonde man sat up in his bed in the little villa, his eyes wide and wild. He stared blindly at the wall opposite him, a clutched fist over his erratically beating heart.  
  
'Scared, Allah, I'm scared! What is this, what's going on? What was that I felt, what's going on?? What..' Quatre's thoughts ran in circles as he struggled to gain control of his sleep dulled senses. He felt a light touch on his arm and he flinched in startlement.  
  
"...Quatre?" Trowa's voice was slow from sleep, and soft. "...What's wrong?"  
  
Quatre blinked, looking at his life partner, who was still half-asleep in the bed beside him.Ê  
  
"Nothing, Trowa," he whispered in reply. "A bad dream..."  
  
"...Oh.... Alright..." Trowa sighed, slipping back into sleep. Quatre laid back down and curled himself up against his lover's chest. Warm arms rose automatically to encircle him and he closed his eyes, trying to dispel the lingering tendrils of foreboding that lurked in his mind. 


End file.
